A long journey has led to a profound clarity for this elderly man: that people need to share about their experiences with AIDS, to tell others how to care for themselves, because no one else will.  Daniel expresses the need and his desire to start support groups for people with HIV, so they can honestly share their knowledge about how to take care of themselves with one another.

In other areas of his life, it is clear that

Marcus experiences constant mistreatment living with his relatives. They take advantage of him, knowing he has no one else to turn to. He has no certificate or form of identification. Many times they don’t give him food or care for him properly. Marcus feels angry, hurt and isolated.

A schoolteacher was the first to take notice of the reality of his situation when Marcus became a danger to himself. He was hurting inside. The teacher being friends with some of the trained care workers who were involved in the Hands at Work Care Points program quickly sought help for Marcus. Marcus received help at the Hands at Work’s Care Point in Cork.

Since February 2009, Marcus has received emotional counseling and food at the care center. Although he is still a long way from being healed, he is slowly recovering and finding meaning in this life. One can only hope that the sorrow and anger deep within him will one day be replaced with peace and enable him to live a full life.

The streets in any part of Kikula are lined with mothers and babies, storefronts, buckets of maize and bundles of charcoal for sale. There are countless children wandering around; as far as the eye can see. The roads of the community are damaged beyond belief and only the bravest of drivers venture out into the sometimes impassable terrain.

Kashama sits on a rock in front of his house. He has a sandal with a broken strap in his hands and he appears to be mending the dusty and worn leather. Beside him is a pile of footwear that tells a similar story of misfortune. This is Kashama’s “business” and his source of income. As Kashama stands up to greet the care workers, the limp in his step and deformity in his appearance becomes apparent. He moves slowly and with care as he greets

This training was coordinated By Samuel Zulu, Etienne Beaud and Chilufya Chama. The training started with sharing of the word by Etienne from Genesis, as the basis and foundation of farming in a sustainable manner. He spoke about restoring the broken relationship between God and man, man to man and man and his environment. This served as a platform for Samuel and Chilufya to build on. After he was done, Chilufya taught on nurseries and vegetable production; how to grow them and management using the principles of low cost, sustainable agriculture.  With the high cost of seedlings, giving the attendees the skill to develop them, opened new possibilities in agriculture. Samuel taught on maize production addressing issues like soil erosion, fertility, cost effectiveness and labor savings. On this same day Etienne taught about the benefits of compost, and how to make it. The attendees had a chance to participate in making compost and, with the massive need for fertilizer in their context, were very excited about having access to their own.

In conclusion, the training was good and successful. The objectives for the training, set in conjunction with the attendees at the start of training, were largely met. From the feedback we got from the participants at the end of the training, the knowledge they acquired would help them. Because the time was short, there were things that came up during the evaluation that they so much wanted to learn and know. This gave us a platform of what kind of things to incorporate in the next training, as we saw the need for that.

Busiku walks 3 miles to attend the local community school where she is in grade four, but when it rains she is not able to attend because the water level of the river makes it too dangerous. Absenteeism is a problem at the local community school which caters for 75 orphans and 45 vulnerable children; some children are too weary from hunger

Mujinga a 17 year old girl was one of those girls who grew up with no education. Her parents could not afford to send her to school as they could hardly afford a good daily meal. Her mother is blind and spends her day sitting in the streets begging. Her father is disabled and cannot walk and has to spend his day sitting in the house mending shoes which is not profitable.  If, Mujinga was the only child, it would have been easier for her parents; she could have found something to do as well, but Mujinga is one of nine children and she is the oldest. Most of the responsibilities are put on her young shoulders. The family

Most of the students at Shalom are orphans living with family members who have taken them in after the deaths of their parents, usually grandmothers, sometimes aunts and uncles.  In cases such as this, when family members take in the children after their parents have passed, the strain added to the family is felt.  Many people in Roan are unemployed, and so gain income by piece work and small-scale business, such as gathering and selling firewood.  This form of income is inconsistent, to say the least.  Often not enough to purchase food regularly, much less pay for government school fees.

In 2002 Gugu’s father died.  She was only 9-years old when her mother sent her to stay with her aunt.  When she returned to Luanshya 3 years later, Gugu was shocked to find that her whole world had changed.  She says, “At home we usually went to bed with empty stomachs or could only eat once a day.  I didn’t go to school because there was no one to sponsor or to buy school necessities for me.”  Since then, Mutende HBC has supported Gugu by providing food periodically to her family, by helping her to return to school, and by teaching her life skills.  “But for the help of Mutende HBC we managed to survive...I am very happy and grateful for what they do because if not for them, I don’t know what would have happened to my life.”   With your help, Hands at Work supports Mutende HBC and other similar community-owned initiatives through training, encouragement, and support for three essential services for orphaned and vulnerable children—basic health, food security, and education.

When Gertrude was 6 years old her father died, leaving her mother to care for her and her 4 year old brother, Alexandre. “It was sad for us to lose our father,” Germena says. “It was difficult. No one was helping us, and my mother worked very hard in the fields to provide food for us. We did not have any money and many times we went to bed hungry. Without a father in the house we did not feel safe and were scared of other people to abuse us.”